Free Books Free Minds is a newly installed big yellow framed box holding donated books, magazines &…read moreother media. These are meant to be exchanged for "donated" medium. "Fred Korematsu Speaks Up" wasn't from here. I borrowed it from the local library. By Laura Atkins & Stan Yogi, the book explains the events leading to Fred Korematsu being awarded the Presidents Medal of Freedom in '98 by Pres. Bill Clinton. The seeds of anti-Asian animus was planted when white miners objected to Chinese migrants mining gold in Ca. During the gold rush. It culminated in Executive Order #9066 by F.D.R. ordering the evacuation of all Japanese aliens & Japanese Americans from the west coast. Fred Korematsu did not evacuate. He Was arrested. The A.C.L.U. Defended him up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in Korematsu vs. U.S. that it was a "military necessity" for him & Japanese Americans to be evacuated, that no civil rights were violated. In 1983 Jeremy Irons & researcher Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga found evidence in the National Archive to warrant an hearing. With Fred's consent, an appeal was made. The writ of coram nobis was granted, overturning Fred's conviction. The writ revealed that government lawyers had suppressed evidence that the Japanese Americans posed no threat, that they were loyal citizens. Jan. 30th is celebrated as Fred Korematsu Day. *May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

this totally white library is named "Lower Bottoms Mini Library". per it's name. there's just a few…read morenonfiction and children's books within., read: "The Color Purple" (Alice Walker) -book is written in epistolary style: i.e. all written in letters from Celie to God & her sister Nettie and her replies back. -Celie is the main character. at an young age she was the subject of rape by her father. 2 children therefrom eventually disappeared. -al Black women in the book are initially mistreated by society in general and by men specifically. -when the women began helping each other, their collective futures prospered. sisterhood & feminism is an evolving theme. -at the novel's end, Celie was reunited with her sister & 2 children as well.

this Little Town Library is located in front of Liberation Park. it's the lst location of Stephen &…read moreAyesha Curry's Eat.Learn.Play's foundation to establish "libraries" for dispensing reading material to young adults. LTL is similar to Little Free Libraries in that books works on an honor system to exchange books.... thru a collaboration with writer's & publishers, Stephen & Ayesha Curry"s LTL are distributing free new books to young adults. many new locations have been announced, mostly near elementary schools. read: "Black Brother Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes -Donte (black tone skin) and Trey (whiter toned skin) are bi-racical siblings in a bi-racial family. Donte is undercoming harrassment by older, white classmates, especially by Alan, the leader of the school's fencing team. non athlete Donte is challenged by Alan, the class bully to a duel. with solidarity from his brother, friends and a black fencing coach, Donte & associates defeats Alan & his mates to win their respect and a place on the new integrated fencing team. the inspiration for Rhodes' books comes from historical facts. the black fencing coach was a former competitive fencer, is modeled after Alex Dumas, a black general in Napolean's Army.

this troquoise book box with a purple triangle is in front of Little House Cafe contains mix of…read morefictions, nonfiction books. reads: "Identity: the Demand for dignity and the politics of resentment" (Frances Fukuyama) -Fukuyama traced political identity from Plato to the present day. main themes are the human desire for recognition and dignity. *short book identifying identity politics but offers no realistic solutions. themes: -identity politics = beliefs based on ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality or other parameters, not on politics of equality and brotherhood. -declared liberal democracies in the Western world would defeat communism. ("The End of History....) and is abolute top rendition of the fromer. now he's concern identity politics will derail liberal democracies. -claims identity politics are exclusive in nature and doesn't work for the common good. examples: a)"upper class form identify politics on campuses that ignores glaring inequaities of the top 1% & the remaining 99%". b)"newer groups draw attention away from older, large groups, whose 'serious problems' have been ignored" c)"focus on lived experience threatens free speech in the public sphere".. -identity political led to "politics of resentment" a)which claim mexicans are ruining the country b)and they are not permitted to talk about it. c)facilitated the emergence of Donald Trump et al. who performed as a fighter for right-wing identity against political correctness and oppossed changes to the national, ethnic and racial makeup ot the US. D.T. was also a trojan horse who gave away America's assets to the 1% in the name of freedom while further improversing the 99%. note: identity political & "politics of resentment" seem mirror images of each other. Fukayama's book is based on US history only. he opposed Trump's ascent. Trump's identity politics is similar to the nationalism trends in India, Italy, Sweden, China, and most of Eastern Europe. Fukayama's identity politics thesis doesn't address the entitlement, subjagation, & privilege issues in America that gave rise to identity politics. his preordained solutions are too simple, his analysis of identity politics is too narrow. Fukayama's book is thinly researched per his narrow focus. it's still a great book. focusing on what's happening in real time, not pre-ordained will enhance the creation of a a realistic narrative and/or solution.

"Variation on an Original Theme?"…read more Recently, the city of Dublin commissioned 12 new Little Free Library book boxes in city parks. Not to be outdone, some creative residents in San Ramon have built their own Community Book box-- but even better! This "book box" is just like other community book boxes, but instead of books, there are balls and sticks and frisbees. It's on the honor system of course. So if you snag a ball, please leave another one. It doesn't have to be a new ball, but just not overly slobbery. Ditto for exchanging sticks or frisbees. Bravo to these creative, wonderful residents in our local community.

Red frame library #50963 doesn't have many nonfictions or fictions within…read more Recent read from public library: "Native Agency: Indians in the Bureau of Indian Affairs" By Valerie Lambert (cultural anthropologist) Illuminates how the B.I.A. Initially tasked with eliminating Native Americans, their land, their culture, & the people have now evolved to preserving & recovering Native cultures, land, tribal sovereignty... In the beginning, B.I.A. negotiated "treaties" whereby Indian tribes ceded Indian lands to the U.S. via "trusts". By 1887, U.S. acquired 93% of Indian lands. -B.I.A. Established schools to eradicate Native cultures, instill white culture & assimilate Indian youth into Metro non-Indian society.. -establish bounties to kill off the bison to eliminate food source from Natives. By the 1970's, the B.I.A. was taken over by Native Americans & Alaskan natives, providing 97% of the staff. The B.I.A. became a training ground for training advocates who went to their tribes to work as advocates. The B.I.A. no longer means "bossing Indians around" November is Native American Heritage Month

This "Take a BooK! Leave a Book!" Little library is in front of the restrooms. This is a collab…read morewith Dublin library. These 2 books, written by Dominican Americans, are about Families & their girls. "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros: *lst book about Dominicans in U.S.? -how an Dominican family of 6 with poor English skills survived in Chicago, slowly getting better jobs with increased English proficiency. -family constantly moving to better houses to avoid crime, bad schools, bad neighbors, abusive 'hoods. -though written for teens, adult level misbehavior isn't glossed over, it's mentioned casually without comment. "How the Garcia Girls lost Their Accents" by Julia Alavarez. Based on Author's experience. -story told thru voices of the 4 girls: Carla, Yolanda, Sandra, Sofir.. with recurring themes around N.J. -catholic girls do have fun -"4 girls, no sons". "Good Bulls sire cows" -family didn't have financial issues. Father has a business. Politics an issue as parents fled Dominican Republic to avoid killers sent by Pres. Rafael Trujillo. -girls made friends with the right kind of Americans: Hoover, Hanes, Scott, Reese. They let the Americans believe they were connected to riche$. -the girls seldom socialized with other Dom-Am's, only related family members. -mom always relies on quotes to relay her thought: "Necessity is the Daughter of Invention". *both books humanizes the immigrant experience that all Americans have endured. Hispanic Heritage Month: 9/15-10/15.

The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states,…read moreWashington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the progressive movement, it was one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world. Since the 1950s, it has lobbied politicians to promote environmentalist policies, even if they are controversial. Recent goals include promoting sustainable energy and mitigating global warming, as well as opposing the use of coal, hydropower, and nuclear power. In addition to political advocacy, the Sierra Club organizes outdoor recreation activities, and has historically been a notable organization for mountaineering and rock climbing in the United States. I always enjoyed the Nature Walks when I lived in California. Look for a chapter near you. You might enjoy getting involved if you are like minded to their environmental concerns.